This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Modern automotive vehicles, particularly light trucks, typically employ beam axles that are constructed in the style of a Banjo-type axle or a Salisbury-type axle. As is known in the art, a Banjo-type axle employs a housing that is fabricated of two identical beam halves, which are welded to one another on the front and rear edges where the beam halves abut one another. A housing for a conventional Banjo-type axle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,674,783. As is also known in the art, a Salisbury-style axle employs a housing that includes a center carrier and a pair of axle tubes that are pressed into or otherwise permanently affixed to the center carrier. A housing for a Salisbury-type axle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,059.
While such axle housings are satisfactory for their intended purposes, there remains a need in the art for an improved axle assembly.